Monday, October 17, 2005

Mammillaria solisiodes

John Pilbeam in his old book, Mammillaria - A Collector's Guide, describes this species as "a challenge to grow for any length of time, this beautifully spined species is much sought after. Seed is ... difficult to raise, the young plants painfully slow growing and prone to damp off. Mature plants ... have a nasty habit of dying in the spring... as though this species cannot accept captivity." This is one of many special plants introduced to OCSS collections over the past several years by OCSS member Paul Davydov. The mature plant pictured is on it's own roots and was blooming today, October 17th, in Hamilton, Ontario.